Flash and Zim free jumped in the arena today as a warm-up to their under saddle workout. Flash loves to jump! He will make some child a fabulous hunter jumper pony! He did not want to stop jumping and doesn’t take much encouragement to go for a jump! Here he is, his second day ever, free jumping! His trainer, Jessika, just happened to mention yesterday that we should free jump the “two boys” i.e. Flash and Zim, as a warm-up to under saddle work. We both were amazed at how Flash took to it.
Flash loves to jump
Now, his half-brother, Zim, is not so thrilled with the jumping thing! He’ll do it with his brother, but he quickly tires of the game and dodges the jump.
After free jumping, the ponies were given a chance to cool down abit, then worked under saddle. Here again, Flash excels. He response quickly with the correct lead canter with light leg aid, and moves smoothly through downward transitions to halt. Zim, not so. He seems to have more rebellious spirit, tossing his head around, chewing continuously on the bit. When asked to rein back, he reared up today! Feisty!! After about 20 minutes he settled down and we end the session on a good note.
Zim Free Jumps
Jack was noticeably tired today. His 10 minutes or so of free lounging were not very energetic. His pace picked up a bit once he was on the lounge line, and there is no doubt that his circles have improved.
Max was also lounged for about 20 minutes today. Very responsive to verbal commands; however, still high head, hollow back and can’t get right lead canter!
[...] miniature horse is a real ham when it comes to jumping. Flash and Zim, well…we know from past experiences how they love to free jump and run [...]